Egypt’s Foreign Minister and Minister of Immigration, Badr Abdelatty, met with African ambassadors accredited to Cairo on Wednesday in a series of meetings he holds with foreign diplomats.
During the meeting, Minister Abdelatty stressed the high priority Egypt places on developing and strengthening its relationships with African nations.
He outlined plans to enhance organizational and institutional mechanisms to propel bilateral relations with all African countries, based on shared principles of solidarity and cooperation across all sectors. He also emphasized the importance of pushing for regional and continental integration to achieve sustainable development.
Abdelatty highlighted Egypt’s commitment to fostering peace, security, and stability across the African continent as one of the founding members of the African Union and a current member of the Peace and Security Council.
He underscored Egypt’s role in leading joint African efforts to confront challenges facing the continent, addressing the root causes of conflict to ensure sustainable peace.
Abdelatty also stressed the importance of Egypt’s vision, championed by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, which links peace, security, and development, exemplified by Egypt’s leadership in post-conflict reconstruction efforts.
The minister reviewed Egypt’s stance on several key issues affecting the continent’s security and stability, including the developments in Sudan, Somalia, Libya, and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Abdelatty emphasized Egypt’s commitment to defending the interests of the African continent and advocated for a unified African voice in international organizations.
He called for upholding the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration to address the historical injustice of Africa’s lack of permanent representation in the Security Council. He also urged reform to make the global financial architecture and international financial institutions more equitable and just for developing nations.
The minister highlighted Egypt’s development role in Africa through the activities of the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development, which conducts capacity-building programs for human resources and institutions.
He also outlined the agency’s funding for development projects that meet the humanitarian needs of African countries.
He further discussed the role of the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding, which serves as a centre of excellence for the African Union.
He reviewed the centre’s training programs in areas such as countering extremism, migration, refugees, and other issues related to peace, security, and development.
The Egyptian foreign minister emphasized the need to strengthen commercial and investment cooperation between African countries to meet the needs and aspirations of African people for comprehensive development.
Abdelatty highlighted the importance of activating the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to enhance continental integration and facilitate trade among African countries.
Abdelatty also stressed the importance of deepening existing cooperation mechanisms and exploring new opportunities to develop political, cultural, and economic relations comprehensively. He discussed the active role of Egyptian companies in Africa, particularly in the construction and infrastructure sectors.
The meeting was attended by Khaled El-Anany, Egypt’s candidate for the position of Director-General of UNESCO, whose candidacy was unanimously endorsed by the African Union to serve from 2025 to 2029.
El-Anany presented a comprehensive overview of the key pillars of his electoral vision, outlining ideas and proposals for developing UNESCO’s work and its activities and initiatives related to education, science, culture, communication, and information. His vision was met with praise and appreciation from the African ambassadors.
During the meeting, the Foreign Minister urged African ambassadors to accelerate the relocation of their embassies to Egypt’s new administrative capital following the government’s move to the new city.
Khaled Abbas, Chairperson and Managing Director of the New Administrative Capital for Urban Development Company, outlined the capital’s key features and the company’s commitment to providing all necessary facilities to ensure a smooth transition of embassies to the diplomatic district.
